2nd rounders in 2nd year: 2025 outlook for Patriots WR Ja'Lynn Polk
Not every second-round draft pick finds immediate success in the NFL. That plain fact often obscures a player's initial evaluation in our society of instant gratification and immediate validation. Some are drafted with an eye for the future more than heavy usage in the present.
That's the basis for our series focusing on the 2024 second-rounders who didn't get a chance to do a lot as rookies, for a variety of reasons. So far, we've covered:
Cowboys EDGE Marshawn Kneeland
Cardinals CB Max Melton
Chiefs OL Kingsley Suamataia
Lions CB Ennis Rakestraw
Falcons DT Ruke Orhorhoro
Next up is a player with a lot to prove in Year 2: Ja'Lynn Polk. The New England Patriots selected Polk with the No. 37 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after a strong career playing wide receiver at Washington (and Texas Tech prior). The 6-foot-1, 203-pound Polk offered impressive size and exceptional ball tracking skills, performing very well as part of a talented WR ensemble for the Huskies.
The Patriots liked what they saw from Polk in training camp and preseason to give him chances to play extensively early on. He started five of the first six games, primarily operating outside but shifting into the slot for about 20 percent of his snaps. Polk struggled to get off press coverage, and his pedestrian speed didn't work as effectively in the NFL as it did in college.
After getting 26 targets and hauling in just 10 of them for 84 yards in the first seven games, Polk missed Week 8 with a concussion. The Patriots effectively moved on from Polk thereafter; Polk had just two catches on seven targets in the remainder of his rookie season.
Based on how New England approached their offseason, that move away from Polk might persist--at least in 2025. The Patriots added free agent WRs Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins, and both are above Polk on the Patriots depth chart. Hollins is a much bigger and more accomplished "big" receiver, while Diggs is a master route runner and dynamic Pro Bowl talent. The Patriots also drafted Washington State speedster Kyle Williams in the third round, adding to a receiver room that still has useful vet Kendrick Bourne and third-year Kayshon Boutte, who finished second on the team in WR targets a year ago.
Polk figures to get chances to impress the new coaching staff headed by Mike Vrabel, but he's got real work to do to stay relevant in the Patriots' plans in 2025. Improving his release off the line and handling physicality would be a good place to start for Polk.
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